Top Items:
Peter Baker / Washington Post:
President Confronts Dissent on Troop Levels — Bush Indicates Military Won't Dictate Numbers; Top General to Retire — The debate over sending more U.S. troops to Iraq intensified yesterday as President Bush signaled that he will listen but not necessarily defer to balky military officers …
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Rachel L. Swarns / New York Times:
Congressman Criticizes Election of Muslim — In a letter sent to hundreds of voters this month, Representative Virgil H. Goode Jr., Republican of Virginia, warned that the recent election of the first Muslim to Congress posed a serious threat to the nation's traditional values.
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Zachary A. Goldfarb / Washington Post:
Va. Lawmaker's Remarks on Muslims Criticized — Republican Had Decried the Use of the Koran for Congressman's Oath of Office — Rep. Virgil H. Goode Jr. (R-Va.) is coming under sharp criticism for lashing out against the decision by Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), who will become the first Muslim member …
Josh Gerstein / New York Sun:
How an Ex-Aide to President Clinton Stashed Classified Documents — A former national security adviser to President Clinton, Samuel Berger, stashed highly classified documents under a trailer in downtown Washington in order to evade detection by National Archives personnel, a government report released yesterday said.
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Associated Press:
Agency says ex-Clinton aide took classified docs — Watchdog: Former national security adviser stowed papers under trailer — WASHINGTON - President Clinton's national security adviser removed classified documents from the National Archives, hid them under a construction trailer and later tried …
Discussion:
Atlas Shrugs, Redstate, Political Animal, Macsmind, The Political Pit Bull, Iowa Voice and USS Neverdock
Telegraph:
Top British Army aide accused of spying — A military aide to the commander of British forces in Afghanistan appeared in court yesterday accused of spying. — Cpl Daniel James, 44, is charged under the 1911 Official Secrets Act with "prejudicing the safety of the state" by passing information …
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Reuters:
Saparmurat Niyazov, Turkmen Leader, Dies at 66 — ASHGABAT (Reuters) - Turkmenistan's President-for-life Saparmurat Niyazov died suddenly on Thursday after 21 years of iron rule, raising a risk of political instability in the energy-rich country that some feared could have an impact on Europe's gas supplies.
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George F. Will / Washington Post:
Full Esteem Ahead — Time magazine asked a large number of people to name the Person of the Year. They were in a populist mood and named the largest possible number of Persons of the Year: Everybody. — Of course. The most capacious modern entitlement is not to Social Security but to self-esteem.
Jacob Weisberg / Slate:
A MORMON PRESIDENT? NO WAY. — Someone who refuses to consider voting for a woman as president is rightly deemed a sexist. Someone who'd never vote for a black person is a racist. But are you a religious bigot if you wouldn't cast a ballot for a believing Mormon?
Sudarsan Raghavan / Washington Post:
Shiite Clerics' Rivalry Deepens In Fragile Iraq — BAGHDAD — In the quest to create a new Iraq, two powerful clerics compete for domination, one from within the government, the other from its shadows. — Both wear the black turban signifying their descent from the prophet Muhammad.
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The Blotter:
London Braces for Attack; 'Miracle' If There Isn't One — Brian Ross and Richard Esposito Report: — British intelligence and law enforcement officials have passed on a grim assessment to their U.S. counterparts, "It will be a miracle if there isn't a terror attack over the holidays in London …
Discussion:
Hot Air
Washington Post:
Mass. Governor's Rightward Shift Raises Questions — As he prepares for a 2008 presidential campaign, Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) has championed the conservative principles that guided President Ronald Reagan, become an outspoken opponent of same-sex marriage and supported overturning …
Jamie Holly / Crooks and Liars:
Scarborough Sees The Light—Barnicle: "Bush is delusional" — Scarborough has made a definite turn-around on Bush over the past year, but it hasn't been as evident as it was on Wednesday's Scarborough Country. Joe appears to be totally fed up with the non-stop spin and ignorance coming …
Reuters:
'I have no future' — Jeb Bush tells reporters — MIAMI (Reuters) - The shadow of President Bush seemed to loom large over his younger brother on Wednesday, as the outgoing Florida governor ruled out any plans to return to elected office. — "No tengo futuro (I have no future)," …
Washington Post:
Federal Subsidies Turn Farms Into Big Business — The cornerstone of the multibillion-dollar system of federal farm subsidies is an iconic image of the struggling family farmer: small, powerless against Mother Nature, tied to the land by blood. — Without generous government help …
Financial Times:
Iran admits oil projects suffering — By Najmeh Bozorgmehr in Tehran and Roula Khalaf in London — Iran's oil minister on Wednesday admitted that Tehran was having trouble financing oil projects, in a rare acknowledgment of the economic cost of its nuclear dispute.
Fred Kaplan / Slate:
The Urge to Surge — THE LATEST BAD IDEA FOR IRAQ. — The hottest briefing in Washington these days is a 56-page PowerPoint slide show titled "Choosing Victory: A Plan for Success in Iraq," by Frederick Kagan, military analyst of the American Enterprise Institute.